Title sequence inspiration: Drive

As mentioned in my Art of the Title blog post, I think that the style of the text in the title sequence of the film Drive could be used in our film opening. After watching back the footage we have so far for our opening, we decided that the use of black screens alternating between the action within the two minutes would work the best as oppose to accompanying the footage. The pink colour and seemingly "girly" type font used in drive, connoting femininity, could act as a clear contradiction to the  topic of our film. As well as this, in a sense the innocent style text would suggest a false plot to the audience almost tricking them. By doing so, this would emphasise the drama and draw focus to the action of our film opening.

Damien Chazelle: Whiplash and La La Land

The director and writer of the film, Damien Chazelle was initially unable to gain funding for the release of Whiplash so he instead turned it into a short film and entered his work into the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. The film won the Short Film Jury Award, and as a consequence he gained funding with an eventual budget of an $3.3 million. "I think it's a great film to open up Sundance because we made it in 19 days, and they edited it in nine weeks, which is unheard of. So, it took a lot of grit and hard work to get us here," Miles Teller told The Hollywood Reporter at the film's after party. Whiplash was released in the USA on October 10th 2014 and 16th January 2015 in the UK. In the opening weekend it accumulated $135,888. Grossed nearly $50 million worldwide. 

I first watched the film shortly after its UK release in 2015, and my first thought was that I'd never seen such tension or anticipation in a film not associated with the horror genre. Use of straight cuts between shots in quick succession and parallel editing enhance the tension provided by Miles Teller's and J K Simmons' performances. This is demonstrated perfectly in the short clip above. An establishing shot of the stage, cutting to an over the shoulder shot of Simmons' character Fletcher in the foreground, pausing for a second before focus is given to Andrew on the drums in spite of the clearly clenched fist dominating about a third of the shot. All of this occurs in the first five seconds of the scene, capturing the rapid pace of the film accompanied by the drums reoccurring presence. Lights dim, but neither character alters their position or expression leaving the audience waiting, as the drums continue. A low angle shot of Andrew is followed by one of my favourite shots, a tracking POV shot of the drum set where it seems the camera can't quite keep up then cutting to a birds eye view of the drum set. Similar close ups are repeated throughout the film to capture the emotional intensity that drives this film. From the point of around 1:40 minutes in the clip, the choice to have no other sound but the drums for a short while, with no enhanced sound of breath or reaction from ensemble aids the camera work in illustrating Andrew's determination and focus the story thrives on.

Aside from the camera work, the very message of the story is what makes it one of my favourites. No, its not a light hearted easy watch but that's what I love about it. It challenges the concept of the American Dream, channelling this idea through the character of Fletcher. He enforces the idea that it takes a lot to be great, beyond skill you require luck. In the setting of a school filled with an abundance of talented students Teller's character is pushed to the edge in order to see himself succeed. Andrew encapsulates the idea of passion, continuously hindered by the words and spitefulness of Fletcher. By doing so Chazelle makes it very easy for the audience to identify with the topic of the film, taking an immediate almost furious dislike to J K Simmons' character. My favourite quote from the film reads "I'd rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me than live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I was"

 

Similarly to Whiplash, Damien Chazelle's upcoming film La La Land tells a story driven by the ambition of its two protagonists, a jazz pianist and an aspiring actress. The film has received five star reviews and especially following  an advanced screenings at the BFI film festival 2016, a hype has been created around the its upcoming release. The film is set to be released in the USA on December 16th 2016 and January 13th 2017 in the UK. As shown in the poster below, Chazelle's newest project has received not only astounding reviews but also multiple wins, creating high expectations for the awaiting audiences and success at events such as the Oscars. Many have said it's set to dominate such award ceremonies in the year to come.

The Missing Review

Following the success of the first series staring James Nesbitt, the BBC has recently aired the second series which focuses on the detective Julien Baptiste and the case of Alice Webster. Initially, the series caused confusion due to the format of the editing and storytelling. Use of continuous flashback and flash forward relies on the attention and intelligence of the audience to understand the storyline and piece information together. A variety of establishing shots and lingering close ups infer things to the audience to remember for later in the eight episode series. Cool toned lighting with blue hues establish a mysterious, sad tone for the programme which at the beginning of the series only draws even further focus to the yellow camper van amongst a deserted landscape. The opening of the series immediately conjures up a variety of questions for the audience. My favourite aspect of the opening is the seemingly hand held tracking shot from behind the protagonist Alice. The shots cut between her at the time of her kidnap and when she has managed to escape. In a forest, the exploration of depth of field, with trees in the foreground allows the clips are edited together at points where Alice's character goes briefly out of sight then re emerges as her grown up self.  It appears that there are two stories, with corruption at the heart of both and gradually the two are seen to overlap with the key characters of Henry Reed and Brigadier Stone shown below. Following episode four, however, I am worried that the storyline with become too far fetched and distract from it's emotional intensity.

First shoot

 

Tuesday was our first time filming for our opening. We decided to film the exterior of the flats and interior of the building shown in the storyboard however, film the party and bathroom shots in my house due to the need for greater space. By doing so, it will require us to pay heavy attention to the mise en scene and consequently the continuity of the overall two minute opening. The main success of the day was our use of lighting in the party scene, briefly shown above. More details and photos to come...

 

Storyboarding our film opening

Below is a compilation of the individual shots with desired sound effects, a rough outline of our film opening. Though the clip is not the full two minutes, we will be including use of pan and tilt shots which we are unable to demonstrate in storyboarding meaning it is substantially shorter. As well as the storyboarding, this post includes our pitch to provide a deeper explanation of the film and our focuses on lighting to convey an overall focus on state of mind in a character driven film opening. The most challenging aspect of our film opening will be a glitch within the editing to further the idea of confusion and distress. Continuity and focus on the mise en scene when shooting the party scene (shots 2, 4,5,6) will be crucial if the glitch is to be the most impressive aspect of the opening. Therefore, over the half term and after filming, I will need to research how to edit the clips in the most professional way possible. As well as this, I will look into hue and intensity of lighting in both films and television for inspiration in establishing tone and mood.
 
1. A tilt shot of the outside of a block of flats, set in the evening with dim lighting.
 
2.The outside of a front door slightly open, meaning the flashing lights are slightly visible accompanied by the sound of thumping music.

3.Cuts abruptly to the bathroom, my character staring into a mirror clearly distressed, tracking me out into the party. 

4. Shots four and five continuously switch between the two to create the glitch to express the protagonists state of mind, similarly demonstrated through lighting.

6. She (my character) walks back out through the front door but after the character slams the door, the camera will linger on the shot as we saw in a clip from Luther from under the bed.

7.Next, an overhead shot birds eye view running down the stairs, the camera will not track so the only movement will be by character running. 

8. Walking out of the door of the flats.

9. A shot from the top of the stairs  at a high angle watching my character going down the stairs.
 
10. Following that, shot of the girl (played by Helin) looking confused in response.
 
11. In conjunction with shot ten is one from the unnamed girl character's point of view looking at my character at the bottom of the stairs.

12. A low angle shot of me at the bottom of the stairs with the same of deep breathing before beginning the running sequence.

13. The use of a dolly shot following me from behind while she is running. We intend on using hand held at points to convey the panic.

14. A wide shot of me running in then quickly out of the frame.

15. Then a close up of my face still running but then transitioning to the next shot whilst her phone rings.

16. Abrupt cut to a black screen with only the sound of panting and the words "I need your help."

Art of the Title research

Using the website Arts of the Title, I found a number of film openings that have key locations, styling or choices in regard to lighting and editing which could be used in our film opening. Most of the films selected below demonstrate use of low key lighting alongside flashing/alternating coloured lights. Quick cuts in editing in conjunction with scenes in slow motion and fluorescent light as shown in 24 Hour Party People and Gaycation could be used in our film opening to illustrate the protagonist's own state of mind. Wes Anderson's direction in Moonrise Kingdom differs in what I take from it. The long pan across the whole house is something I would love to try and incorporate into a party setting in our own film opening however most likely a shorter shot. Styling as well as  initial location of This is England and hue of lighting would ideally be replicated in our film opening. Gone Girl and Drive demonstrate the most likely way our group would choose to present the titles as the initial action is what we want to draw focus to.

24 Hour Party People

 Drive

Gaycation

Gone Girl

Moonrise Kingdom

This is England

Glue TV Series

Though it was first aired in 2014, which was when I first watched it, I have began to re-watch the E4 series Glue but from a more analytical point of view. The programme follows a group of teenagers dealing with the death of one of their close friends. It's storyline incorporates the separate but complex relationships of those in the programme with use of flashback to illustrate the character Caleb Bray's life before his unfortunate death. The use of lighting throughout the episodes conveys the mood and tone. Below is an example of the use of colour which is something I would like to explore in our opening, specifically within a party setting. Hue and intensity of lighting is something we could incorporate into the contrasting locations of a film opening and also provide an insight into the mind set of the chosen protagonist.

The programme does explore quite adult, yet relevant topics across all eight episodes each relating to a specific characters individual story. The clip below captures the moment after the teenagers have been interviewed about Caleb's death at the police station. The dynamic and status of all the characters is made evident through both choice of camera shots and dialogue. In particular, use of quite extreme close up on the character James' face, saying nothing whilst all the others speak quickly around him provides an insight into his personality. Director's choice for the camera to be hand held involves the audience more deeply, with alternating close ups on all characters making it feel as though the audience (as the camera) is standing with them.